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Getting out of the car, we all stretched our legs and arms before making our way towards the back of the vehicle to get our bags. Dividing everything up, I could see Cree’s jaw tick as Lulee grabbed one of her suitcases, testing Cree’s chivalry once again.
As Cree and Lulee made their way towards the lobby, I grabbed my bag, then Verity’s suitcase. When she opened her mouth to object, I said, “Be lucky I’m letting you carry your tote, Verity.”
She arched a brow. “Is that so?”
I snatched her tote from her arm, leaving her with her purse only. “I’m not in the mood. I might only be your pretend boyfriend this week, but I’m still going to be a good pretend boyfriend.”
“Hurry up, you guys!” Lulee called out.
“What’s it going to be?” I asked, ready to pick up from where we left off at the gas station.
“Just because I chose not to ruin this week for everyone doesn’t mean that you can-”
“We can fight about that later,” I told her, refusing to let her lay down rules before we even got into the room. “Let’s go.”
Verity glowered at me, but she started walking, and that’s all I cared about at the moment. I wanted to get this girl into our room more than I wanted to take my next breath, and it wasn’t so that I could fuck her. Sure, that was a real hope for me, but we needed to talk more than I needed her to give me her body.
Walking into the lobby, the place looked very nice. More modern than I had expected, and the woman smiling at us from behind the counter seemed enthusiastic as hell to see us.
“Welcome to Amity Expectations,” she greeted. “I’m Marilyn Clark.”
“Hi, Marilyn,” Lulee greeted back as Verity and I stopped behind her, Cree on the other side of her. “I’m Lulee Fable, and we have reservations for the week.”
Instead of tapping away on a computer, Marilyn opened up an appointment book, and searched for our reservations, and I wasn’t even going to bother pulling my phone out to see if I had any reception. Something already told me that I didn’t.
“Ah, yes,” she said cheerfully. “Reservations for four, correct?” Lulee nodded. “Well, we have one other couple book for the week, and they took The Infinity Room.”The what?“So, that leaves The Darling Room, The Paradise Room, The Lovers Room, and The Commitment Room.”
“Oh…uhm, we’d like our rooms to be next to each other,” Lulee told her. “Is that possible?”
“Of course.” Going back to writing in the appointment book, Marilyn scribbled whatever she needed to before looking back up at Lulee. “You will be in The Lovers Room, and your friends can have The Commitment Room.”
“Perfect,” Lulee replied, grinning.
“Well, it seems appropriate, don’t you think?” Marilyn tittered, though there was something very off about the sound. “That young man is carrying his young lady’s bags, so that tells me that there’s a real commitment there.”
Before any of us could tell her how wrong she was, Cree was already defending himself. “Yeah, that’s not my fault. No matter how hard I try, Lulee likes to be independent.’
“I don’t need a man to take care of me,” Lulee huffed. “I’m very capable of carrying my own bags.”
“Well, I suppose my husband and I are just from a different era,” Marilyn sniffed. “My Richard isn’t confused about his role in our marriage, and that role is of the man.”
“Women have come a long way from having to depend on a man,” Lulee scoffed haughtily.
“Letting a man take care of you is very different from having to depend on him,” Marilyn chided softly. “If he’s doing it right, then there should be no confusion.”
“I treat her plenty right,” Cree said, again, defending himself.
“And where is your husband?” I asked, stepping up and putting a stop to a conversation that would only get us kicked out. Was Marilyn being rude? Yes, most definitely. Still, Cree and Lulee shouldn’t care a lick about what this woman thought; she was a complete stranger.
Marilyn smiled over at me. “Oh, he’s making sure that we have everything we need to accommodate three couples this week. We’re a far cry from the nearest town, so if he’s going to make a trip for necessities, it’s better to make only one.”
“Do you run the retreat yourselves,” Verity asked, helping me diffuse the situation.
“Our son, Donovan, helps us run the place,” she answered, a proud smile on her face. “You know, our Donovan could have gone on to do anything that he wanted, but he chose to help us run this place, and I just couldn’t love him more for it.”
“Family’s important,” Verity remarked, making Marilyn Clark beam even more.
“Well, here are your room keys,” she said as she handed Lulee and Verity the keys. Then pushing a pamphlet of some sort towards Lulee, she added, “This is a brochure of what we have available here at the retreat, along with our dining times. Since there are five cabins with only three of us running this place, we only serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, we have a small cafeteria of sorts that has vending machines, a coffee bar, and stuff like that.”
